Method and apparatus for telephonically accessing and navigating the internet

ABSTRACT

A method for accessing and browsing the internet through the use of a telephone and the associated DTMF signals is disclosed. The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a system for converting the information content of a web page from text to speech providing the voice signals (voice signals), and to the users receiving DTMF signals from the user corresponding to the hyperlink selections. Upon receiving a DTMF signal corresponding to a hyperlink, the corresponding web page is fetched and again read back to the user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to methods for retrieving information from an interconnected network accessing and reporting the retrieved information to the user and more particularly a method for accessing interconnected networks such as the internet via a telephone, retrieve information at the user's request and reporting the information via speech, fax-back, e-mail, and other means.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Under the conventional method of accessing information on an interconnected network such as the internet the user is required to have access to a certain amount of computer software and hardware and is expected to have a certain level of computer experience and knowledge before the user can successfully access (or browse) a wide range of information reading now available on the internet. If the user does not have a computer with a modem and the appropriate software to direct the computer to control a communication port accessing others a dial-up connection via a modem or a direct connection to the internet, the user will have no means available to him or her to access the internet.

[0005] Given the amount of information now readily available on the internet from a wide range of subject matters to detailed information for a large number of companies, having the ability to access the internet becomes a matter of convenience as well as a matter of having access to an invaluable reference source.

[0006] Additionally, it is advantageous for companies to direct their customers to a central information database and thereby necessitating maintenance of only one database rather than multiple databases.

[0007] The software and hardware requirement for accessing the internet creates a barrier for most people for taking advantages of this information source. Prior art systems overcome this problem through a telephone fax-back system where a user uses a telephone to dial into a company's web page and the web page is faxed-back to the user. The manner of operating this system is tedious and time consuming. In order for the user to access a hyperlink on the first web page, the first fax back web page needs to be numerically annotated such that the user can call back and a second tone (or hold until the first page is received) to make a subsequent hyperlink selection to another page through the use of the numeric selection.

[0008] It is clear therefore that a better system is needed to allow access to the internet and browse the internet in an inexpensive and efficient manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for accessing and browsing the internet through the use of a telephone.

[0010] It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for accessing and browsing the internet by providing text-to-speech capability where the information content of a web page is provided to the user in audio and hyperlink selections are notified to the user via the use of a special notification signal thereby allowing the user to browse the internet.

[0011] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for accessing and browsing the internet where the information content of a web page may be provided to the user via voice (audio signal), fax-back, e-mail, or regular mail.

[0012] Briefly, a method for accessing and browsing the internet through the use of a telephone and the associated DTMF signals is disclosed. The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a system for converting the information content of a web page from text to speech providing the voice signals (voice signals), and to the users receiving DTMF signals from the user corresponding to the hyperlink selections. Upon receiving a DTMF signal corresponding to a hyperlink, the corresponding web page is fetched and again read back to the user.

IN THE DRAWINGS DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Referring to FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the present invention is operated by a caller (user) 10 via the use of a telephone and a telephone network 12 to connect to the dialed-up phone system having telephoning hardware and software 14. The caller generates DTMF tones by pressing the keys on the keypad of the telephone. In one embodiment, a voice modem receives the DTMF tones, converts the DTMF tones to formatted DTMF codes, and passes the codes to an interface device driver in a host operating system. The operating system directs the formatted DTMF codes to a voice browser 18 which browses the internet 20, contacts the desired web site, requests and receives the corresponding web page in HTML format, converts the web page on HTML format to a voice (audio) format, and sends the voice formatted web page to the user via the telephone network. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for telephonically accessing and navigating a computer network, the method comprising: receiving a first request transmitted from a telephone, the first request comprising data signals that correspond to a first unique address of a first data file residing on the computer network, and the first data file comprising a first hyperlink; transmitting a first response to the telephone, the first response comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the first data file; generating the voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the first data file; and generating predetermined signals preceding the first hyperlink to indicate the first hyperlink.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the first hyperlink corresponds to a second unique address of a second data file residing on the computer network.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the computer network comprises the Internet.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the first data file resides on a first computer of the computer network, and the first hyperlink corresponds to a second unique address of a second data file residing on a second computer of the computer network.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data signals comprise Dual Tone Multiple Frequency (DTMF) signals.
 6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice signals comprise synthesized voice signals.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice signals comprise recorded voice signals.
 8. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: receiving a second request transmitted from the telephone, the second request comprising data signals that correspond to a second unique address of a second data file residing on the computer network, and the second unique address corresponding to the first hyperlink of the first data file.
 9. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein the first data file comprises a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format.
 10. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: transmitting predetermined signals to the telephone, the predetermined signals indicating the first hyperlink.
 11. The method as recited in claim 10 wherein the predetermined signals comprise a predetermined tone.
 12. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the first data file comprises a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format.
 13. The method as recited in claim 12 further comprising: converting the first data file to a first format.
 14. The method as recited in claim 12 further comprising: fetching the first data file using a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
 15. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice signals comprise a verbal reading of the first unique address.
 16. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: receiving a facsimile request transmitted from the telephone, the facsimile request indicating a request for a copy of the first data file transmitted via facsimile; and transmitting a facsimile response, the facsimile response comprising the first data file transmitted via facsimile.
 17. The method as recited in claim 16 further comprising: converting the first data file from a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format to a first format.
 18. The method as recited in claim 17 wherein the first format comprises a PostScript format.
 19. The method as recited in claim 17 further comprising: converting the first data file from the first format to a second format, the second format comprising a Tagged Image File Format (TIFF).
 20. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: receiving an electronic mail request transmitted from the telephone, the electronic mail request indicating a request for an electronic copy of the first data file transmitted via electronic mail; and transmitting an electronic mail message, the electronic mail message comprising the first data file.
 21. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: receiving a postal mail request transmitted from the telephone, the postal mail request indicating a request for a printed copy of the first data file; and transmitting a postal mail message, the postal mail message comprising the first data file in a paper-based document format.
 22. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice signals comprise recorded voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the first data file, the recorded voice signals being stored in a voice database.
 23. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: fetching the first data file using the first unique address, the first data file comprising a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format, and the first unique address comprising a Universal Resource Locator (URL).
 24. The method as recited in claim 23 wherein the fetching step comprises a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request transmitted via the Internet, and the URL comprises an address of a first computer in communication with the Internet.
 25. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the generating the voice signals step comprises: outputting recorded voice signals, the recorded voice signals being stored in a voice database.
 26. The method as recited in claim 25 wherein the generating speech signals step further comprises: outputting text-to-speech synthesized voice signals, the text-to-speech synthesized voice signals being generated by a text-to-speech voice synthesizer.
 27. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: receiving a second request transmitted from the telephone, the second request comprising DTMF signals that correspond to the first hyperlink; and transmitting a second response to the telephone, the second response comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the second data file, and the second data file comprising a second hyperlink.
 28. The method as recited in claim 27 wherein the first data file comprises a first Web page, and the second data file comprises a second Web page.
 29. The method as recited in claim 27 further comprising: inputting recorded speech in the voice database using a teleprompter.
 30. The method as recited in claim 27 wherein the fetching step comprises: requesting a Web page corresponding to the first unique address using a Web browser.
 31. The method as recited in claim 30 further comprising: converting the first data file to a Tagged Image File Format (TIFF); and transmitting the converted first data file via facsimile.
 32. The method as recited in claim 30 further comprising: converting the first data file to a paper-based document format; and mailing the converted first data file via postage mail.
 33. The method as recited in claim 30 further comprising: converting the first data file to an ASCII format; and transmitting an electronic mail message, the electronic mail message comprising the converted first data file.
 34. The method as recited in claim 30 wherein the predetermined signals comprise a numeric voice message.
 35. The method as recited in claim 30 wherein the voice signals are encoded in Adaptive Differential Pulse Coded Modulation format.
 36. The method as recited in claim 30 further comprising: generating text-to-speech synthesized voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the first data file if recorded speech corresponding to the text stored in the first data file is not stored in the voice database; and storing the generated text-to-speech synthesized voice signals in the voice database for subsequent lookup.
 37. An apparatus for telephonically accessing and navigating a computer network, the apparatus comprising: logic that receives a first request transmitted from a telephone, the first request comprising data signals that correspond to a first unique address of a first data file residing on the computer network, and the first data file comprising a first hyperlink; logic that transmits a first response to the telephone, the first response comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the first data file; and a voice interface, the voice interface generating voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the first data file, and the voice interface generating predetermined signals preceding the first hyperlink to indicate the first hyperlink.
 38. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 wherein the first hyperlink corresponds to a second unique address of a second data file residing on the computer network.
 39. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 wherein the computer network comprises the Internet.
 40. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 wherein the first data file resides on a first computer of the computer network, and the first hyperlink corresponds to a second unique address of a second data file residing on a second computer of the computer network.
 41. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 wherein the data signals comprise Dual Tone Multiple Frequency (DTMF) signals that correspond to the first unique address.
 42. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 wherein the voice signals are generated using a voice interface that outputs synthesized voice signals.
 43. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 wherein the voice signals are generated using a voice interface that outputs recorded voice signals.
 44. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 further comprising: logic that receives a second request transmitted from the telephone, the second request comprising data signals that correspond to a second unique address of a second data file residing on the computer network, and the second unique address corresponding to the first hyperlink of the first data file.
 45. The apparatus as recited in claim 44 wherein the first data file comprises a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format.
 46. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 further comprising: logic that transmits predetermined signals to the telephone, the predetermined signals indicating the first hyperlink.
 47. The apparatus as recited in claim 46 wherein the predetermined signals comprise a predetermined tone.
 48. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 wherein the first data file comprises a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format.
 49. The apparatus as recited in claim 48 further comprising: logic that converts the first data file to a first format.
 50. The apparatus as recited in claim 49 wherein the first format comprises an H-tree data structure.
 51. The apparatus as recited in claim 49 further comprising: logic that fetches the first data file using a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
 52. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 wherein the voice signals comprise a verbal reading of the first unique address.
 53. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 further comprising: logic that receives a facsimile request transmitted from the telephone, the facsimile request indicating a request for a copy of the first data file transmitted via facsimile; and logic that transmits a facsimile response, the facsimile response comprising the first data file transmitted via facsimile.
 54. The apparatus as recited in claim 53 further comprising: logic that converts the first data file from a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format to a first format.
 55. The apparatus as recited in claim 54 wherein the first format comprises a PostScript format.
 56. The apparatus as recited in claim 55 further comprising: logic that converts the first data file from the first format to a second format, the second format comprising a Tagged Image File Format (TIFF).
 57. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 further comprising: logic that receives an electronic mail request transmitted from the telephone, the electronic mail request indicating a request for an electronic copy of the first data file transmitted via electronic mail; and logic that transmits an electronic mail message, the electronic mail message comprising the first data file.
 58. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 further comprising: logic that receives a postal mail request transmitted from the telephone, the postal mail request indicating a request for a printed copy of the first data file; and logic that transmits a postal mail message, the postal mail message comprising the first data file in a paper-based document format transmitted via postal mail.
 59. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 wherein the voice signals comprise recorded voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the first data file, the recorded voice signals being stored in a voice database.
 60. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 further comprising: a Web browser, the Web browser fetching the first data file using the first unique address, the first data file comprising a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) format, and the first unique address comprising a Universal Resource Locator (URL).
 61. The apparatus as recited in claim 60 wherein the Web browser transmits a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request transmitted via the Internet, and the URL comprises an address of a first computer in communication with the Internet.
 62. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 further comprising: a voice database, the voice database storing recorded voice signals, and the voice interface outputting voice signals stored in the voice database that correspond to the text stored in the first data file.
 63. The apparatus as recited in claim 62 further comprising: a text-to-speech voice synthesizer, the text-to-speech voice synthesizer generating text-to-speech synthesized voice signals, and the voice interface outputting text-to-speech generated voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the first data file.
 64. The apparatus as recited in claim 37 further comprising: logic that receives a second request transmitted from the telephone, the second request comprising DTMF signals that correspond to the first hyperlink; and logic that transmits a second response to the telephone, the second response comprising voice signals that correspond to text stored in the second data file, and the second data file comprising a second hyperlink.
 65. The apparatus as recited in claim 64 wherein the first data file comprises a first Web page, and the second data file comprises a second Web page.
 66. The apparatus as recited in claim 64 further comprising: a teleprompter, the teleprompter being used to input recorded speech in the voice database.
 67. The apparatus as recited in claim 64 wherein the Web browser requests a Web page that corresponds to the first unique address.
 68. The apparatus as recited in claim 67 further comprising: a Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) converter, the TIFF converter converting the first data file to a TIFF file; and logic that transmits the converted first data file via facsimile.
 69. The apparatus as recited in claim 64 further comprising: a document delivery sub-system, the document delivery sub-system converting the first data file to a paper-based document format for mailing via postage mail.
 70. The apparatus as recited in claim 64 further comprising: a document delivery sub-system, the document delivery sub-system converting the first data file to an ASCII format; and an electronic mail sub-system, the electronic mail sub-system transmitting an electronic mail message, and the electronic mail message comprising the converted first data file.
 71. The apparatus as recited in claim 64 wherein the predetermined signals comprise a numeric voice message.
 72. The apparatus as recited in claim 64 wherein the voice signals are encoded in Adaptive Differential Pulse Coded Modulation format.
 73. The apparatus as recited in claim 64 further comprising: a text-to-speech synthesizer, the text-to-speech synthesizer generating text-to-speech synthesized voice signals that correspond to the text stored in the first data file if recorded speech corresponding to the text stored in the first data file is not stored in the voice database; and logic that stores the generated text-to-speech synthesized voice signals in the voice database for subsequent lookup. 